A WHEEL of Fortune contestant suffered a puzzle failure so bad on Tuesday that Pat Sajak had to ask viewers to reward their empathy.
The longtime host — retiring in just a few weeks — knew there would be backlash for Brittany’s intriguingly bad choice of lyrics.
Brittany controlled a “phrase” puzzle and the special jackpot round was worth $11,200.
The puzzle said “A_T_ING’ ‘IS’ ‘POSSIB_ _ E’ so it seemed to be just asking to be solved.
However, Brittany spun again instead of resolving.
Then came the shock: she asked for an “R”.
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The audience gasped and Britany cringed with instant regret as Pat, 77, told her: “I’m sorry, no, R.”
The next contestant, Susan, chose to solve the problem immediately as “Anything Is Possible.”
‘AND THEN WE FOLLOWED…’
Pat addressed the audience, anticipating fans’ reaction to Brittany and her disconcerting absence.
“Sometimes you’re sitting at home and you think, ‘I know this,’” he said to the camera.
“It’s a funny thing; sometimes he doesn’t want to come into focus – and then we move on to the next round.”
‘AS!?’
However, the glitch caused a backlash as social media users expressed their shock at the “R” choice.
“I can’t believe she said ‘R’, proving that nothing is possible,” one fan joked about X.
“How did she not know? It was practically complete, beyond three letters now she has me grinding my teeth and I can’t stop,” wrote another.
“Where the hell did that woman think an R would fit into that puzzle?” asked a third.
That being said, neither Susan nor Brittany won the episode, as the third player, Grant, had the biggest night with $27,000 before the bonus round.
HONOR PAT
Wheel of Fortune host Pat is in his final episodes before retiring from the game show next month.
As he nears the end of his 43-year run on the show, fans reflect on some of his funniest on-camera moments.
Many have noticed his classic phrases used when a contestant gets a puzzle wrong.
In a throwback clip shared on Instagram, one question asked players to guess “quick-burning stove,” “food-burning stove,” and “hood-burning stove.”
Finally, one contestant said “wood burning stove,” which was the correct answer, but the 77-year-old presenter said it was too late.
“We burned practically everything in sight,” he joked.
Fans rushed to the comments section to gush over Pat’s humor and share how much they will miss him on WOF.
“I actually cry when I think about Pat leaving! I love his humor. We will miss him”, confessed one of them.
“I’m loving these clips! Pat is so hilarious. We will miss him so much. It won’t be the same without him,” a second agreed.
“That was amazing,” shared a third.
“Legend,” another put it briefly.
PAT IS A WRAP
Pat’s final episode will air on June 7th and is aptly titled “Thanks For The Memories.”
The show has not announced whether Pat’s farewell will be a full tribute with memories from many years ago or simply business as usual with a goodbye at the end.
The episode will be a TV milestone, as the host has been creating puzzles and prizes alongside Vanna White, 66, since 1981 and 1982, respectively.
Ryan Seacrest, 49, was chosen as Pat’s replacement last year, shortly after Pat announced he was leaving.
That being said, fans shared mixed feelings about the decision.
On social media, one dedicated viewer claimed that the American Idol star has “big shoes to fill” when it comes to the WoF star’s beloved humor.
The show airs weekdays at 7:30 pm ET on ABC, so fans can catch his farewell on June 7 at that time.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story